Prosecution Trend: Charging Opioid Dealers in Overdose Deaths

 LITTLETON, N.H. (AP) — He knew he was in trouble even before he read the text message:"Did u hear what hapnd 2 ed?"Ed Martin III had been found dead in the bathroom of a convenience store, slumped over on his knees with a needle and a residue-stained spoon in his pocket. He'd mainlined fentanyl, an opioid up to 50 times more powerful than heroin. A pink plastic bag of white powder sat on the sink.Michael Millette had heard. Theoverdose death of his friend, just 28, brought tears to his eyes. But he was scared, too. He was Martin's dealer, the man who'd sold him his final fix.In panic, Millette fled to Vermont. But within a day he was back, selling again. He needed money for his own habit.Now, though, police had a tip that"Mike on Main Street" had been Martin's dealer. Undercover officers began watching his furtive deals on a pedestrian bridge behind his apartment; they secretly photographed his visitors. After he sold drugs to an informant, they swooped in and arrested him.That's when Millette earned a dubious distinction: He became one of a growing number of dealers around the nation to face prosecution for the fatal heroin and fentanyl overdoses of their customers. He was charged not just with drug dealing, but with causing Martin's death.Maximum penalty: life behind bars.In many states, including Ohio, Maine, West Virginia and New Jersey, authorities grappling with an alarming surge in opioid abuse are filing homicide, involuntary manslaughter o...
Source: JEMS Patient Care - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: News Patient Care Source Type: news